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The Phoenix Coyotes, a professional ice hockey team now known as the Arizona Coyotes and playing in the National Hockey League (NHL), filed for bankruptcy in 2009 after incurring several hundred million dollars of losses since their move to Phoenix, Arizona from Winnipeg, Manitoba, where they were known as the Winnipeg Jets. Bankruptcy court rejected a plan to sell the team and move it to Canada, and the team was purchased by the NHL. The NHL operated the team in Phoenix for four seasons while seeking a new owner. After several prospective purchases fell through, the team was finally sold in the summer of 2013. ==Summary== In December 2008, the media became aware that the Phoenix Coyotes were losing money at a high rate and were being funded by the NHL directly. The media reports were minimized by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, but secretly the NHL had taken over operations of the Coyotes. In May 2009, the owner of the team, Jerry Moyes, put the team into bankruptcy hours before receiving Bettman, who was to present a potential offer to purchase. Moyes intended to sell the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who intended to purchase the team out of bankruptcy and move it to Hamilton, Ontario, without being restricted by the NHL's rules on relocation. From May 2009 until September 2009, hearings were held in Phoenix bankruptcy court to determine the fate of the Coyotes and the holding company. Two potential bidders for the team surfaced—Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Ice Edge Holdings, Inc.—but they did not put in bids for the team at the bankruptcy hearing. Instead, the NHL put in the only rival bid to Balsillie for the team, while they fought Moyes' plan to sell the team and move it to Hamilton against the NHL rules. Ultimately, the Phoenix court ruled that the team could not be sold to Balsillie, as the judge held that bankruptcy could not be used to subvert the league's rules. The NHL's original bid was also insufficient for the bankruptcy judge, since it did not treat Moyes and Gretzky as full creditors. Later, the NHL settled with Moyes with the league buying the team and assuming all debts. After the sale, the NHL negotiated a temporary lease with the City of Glendale, Arizona, owner of Jobing.com Arena (now known as Gila River Arena). The NHL then proceeded to work with the two potential bidders, Reinsdorf and Ice Edge, to work out a deal with Glendale. Ice Edge signed a letter of intent to buy the team from the NHL, while Reinsdorf had won the approval of the City of Glendale. By the end of summer 2010, both bidders had failed to complete a purchase and dropped out. The NHL, which had threatened to move the team to Winnipeg for the 2010–11 season, agreed to keep the team in Glendale for the season, after Glendale agreed to fund its losses. The NHL publicly announced a deadline of December 31, 2010, for any purchase to keep the team in Phoenix, after which it might make plans to move the team. In December 2010, Chicago-based investor Matthew Hulsizer, along with several investors, was approved by the NHL to purchase the team and reached a lease agreement with Glendale. A deal was reached between Glendale and Hulsizer that involved the sale of bonds by the city to pay Hulsizer over $100 million against future parking revenues at the arena. The Goldwater Institute, a think tank and litigation center, announced that it would challenge the lease agreement in court. The threat led to the failure of the bond sale. Hulsizer abandoned his bid for the Coyotes on June 27, 2011. For the 2011–12 season, Glendale set aside $25 million to ensure that the Coyotes would stay in Glendale for another season, while the NHL worked on arranging the purchase. In August 2011, a group headed by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison was identified as a potential purchaser. Jamison's group intended to keep the team in Arizona. Another group, including past bidder Reinsdorf, emerged in September 2011. The City of Glendale intended to complete negotiations with one or the other by the end of December 2011, but no deal was forthcoming. In May 2012, the NHL announced a tentative agreement with Jamison's group and hoped to complete the sale "within weeks". In June, a lease agreement between Jamison and Glendale was reached, but a clause forbidding putting the agreement on the November Glendale municipal election ballot was rejected in court. If enough signatures were collected, the agreement's approval would have been up to Glendale citizens. In July, Glendale rejected petitions as being delivered 'late' and without enough signatures. The lease agreement was eventually revised and approved by Glendale in November 2012. On January 31, 2013, Jamison stated he would be unable to complete the sale of the Coyotes under the terms of the lease signed in November 2012.〔http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8903577/greg-jamison-unable-complete-purchase-phoenix-coyotes-deadline〕 In May 2013, a new group was formed to purchase the team. Renaissance Sports & Entertainment, (RS&E) which included investors who had made a previous offer, made a deal with the NHL to purchase the team for $225 million. The deal required an arena lease agreement with the City of Glendale. The NHL stated to the city that this would be the last potential sale to keep the team in Glendale, and made arrangements to move the team to Seattle, should a deal not be made. Ultimately, by a 4–3 vote in a July 2, 2013 City of Glendale Council meeting, the city agreed to accept a deal with RS&E. The deal keeps the team in Glendale for a guaranteed minimum of five years, with a maximum lease going for over 15 years. The team would also change their name from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Arizona Coyotes in the process. On August 5, 2013, the NHL Board of Governors approved the sale of the Coyotes to RS&E.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy and sale」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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